He trails off and I use the pause to interrupt him. “It’s fine. I was only still here because of the rain. Plus, I’m glad I didn’t end up in your bed like all the other women. Well, to do something besides sleep.”
“Other women?”
“Yeah. Come on, you’re a legend around here. I’m sure you’re quite…busy.” God, I hate what a bitch I’m being. But he can’t know how rejected I feel.
“No other woman has ever slept in my bed. Only you.”
I’m certain I look like a fish out of water as I gape at him. “What? Certainly you’ve…” I gesture toward him, unwilling to finish that statement.
“I’m not saying I live like a monk. But I don’t bring women home. Not on dates. And not for anything else.”
Pulling into an empty spot in the gravel lot of Boulder Ranch, he directs his serious gaze at me. I can’t look away. I need to get out of this truck before someone sees us. And I need to get away from him. He doesn’t want me, and if I keep it up, I’m going to look like some pathetic fangirl. Even if he’s never had another woman in his bed.
“Well, like I said, I was only still there because of the weather,” I say quietly.
“And you were at my house because I wanted you there. Because I invited you.”
He lets the meaning linger in the air. I’m trying hard not to over think this, because his reaction to me explaining my breakup would have me believing this man is far from looking for a relationship. So, this wasn’t a date. And that’s why he stopped things.
“Okay, well I’m going to be late.” I reach for the door handle, but he holds up a hand to stop me before rushing to my side of the truck to open the door.
“I invited you to my house on a date. Because I wanted to spend time with you, and I wanted you to see a part of me that many people don’t get to see. So, whatever this is, it’s not something I normally do. Just so you know.” He finishes speaking and steps aside, helping me to step out of the truck.
“Okay,” I breathe. It’s the only word I manage to form.
“What time do you get off?”
“You don’t have to—”
He cuts me off. “What time do you get off?”
“Three.”
“I’ll be here.” I watch as he walks away, leaving me standing here.
Shaking myself out of my trance, I make my way into the barn so I can get to work. The first thing I do is feed, so I make my way to the far end and work my way back. As soon as I reach the first stall, Miranda Wells rounds the corner.
“Hey, Joy. How’s it going? Did you have a good night?” She pulls her light brown waves into a ponytail as she waits for me to respond.
“Yeah. I did have a good night. How about you?” Miranda and I get along, but her question is unusual. We usually talk about horses, and work. Every now and then we talk about local gossip. But we never talk about our personal lives.
She grins at me. “Something tells me my night wasn’t as good as yours was.”
I feign ignorance as I take care of the horse in the first stall, feeding him and making sure there’s fresh water. Hopefully, if I get busy working, Miranda will take the hint and find something to do besides grill me. Usually, I feed all the horses then come back to muck the stalls. There are a lot of horses this time of year, and easily enough work to last all day. Even with more than one of us working. I look up to find Miranda still standing in the same spot, watching me expectantly.
“Don’t look so nervous,” she continues. “One could do much worse than Tate Garrison.”
I allow myself a small chuckle. “Yeah. He is hot. But it’s not what it looks like. I went over there so he could show me his land on horseback. I was saying it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to ride for fun. Anyway, we got caught in the rain and by the time my clothes were dry, his drive was too flooded for my little car to get through. And the water is still high, so here I am.”
Miranda eyes me as if she isn’t quite sure if she should believe me or not. I can’t blame her. Honestly, if I had my way, there would be much more to the story than the version I gave her. If anything, the fact that he made it to at least—I don’t know—second base, makes the fact we didn’t have sex feel that much worse. That much more awkward. But he was pretty clear when he dropped me off that he’s interested insomething.I’m just not quite sure what.
“Well…” She trails off for several long moments. “Not to be a creep, but I watched the two of you before you made it into the barn, and something tells me riding horses isn’t the only reason he invited you over there. Anyway, I won’t keep you.”
I’m left standing in the stall, gripping the railing as if my life depends on it. Tate came right out and said he invited me over to spend time with me. And that it’s not something he normally does. And now I have Miranda saying she read all of that from our brief interaction outside of his truck. I get back to work, thankful I have an entire day to try and analyze everything. An entire workday before I have to climb into his truck and pretend like he hasn’t changed everything in the course of a few days.
Chapter 14
Tate
